


Discrimination

by Jet_Set_Yoyo



Series: Original Work Shorts/Scenes [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Bullying, Childhood, Childhood Friends, Childhood Trauma, Children's Squabble Gone Too Far, Female Protagonist, Gen, Magic, Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-10-20 22:22:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20682875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jet_Set_Yoyo/pseuds/Jet_Set_Yoyo
Summary: Several months after Riley's first meeting with Queen Reina, she goes to hang out with her newfound friends. What should have been just a fun day playing turns into a nightmare when Riley realizes that not everyone is happy to have her there.





	Discrimination

**Author's Note:**

> There are graphic depictions of violence on a minor. If that's not your thing it might be best not to read this. Riley's story will focus a bit more on a realistic sense of what having magical powers means, the trauma going off to another world entirely, and children being thrust into situations (mostly war-themed) that have broken many adults. So this novel, when finished, will tend to have a bit of a darker undertone.

Riley plopped herself down in the grass. Some of the blades and wildflowers tickled her arms and face as she laid on her back, her gaze shifted from the horizon to the soft puffy clouds gliding by overhead. Beside her Zaiden dropped cross legged and leaned back on his hands as he closed his eyes. A gentle breeze ruffled his hair. The hustle and bustle of the village was long out of earshot though they could still make out the houses across the meadow. Aside from the rustling of the grass in the breeze, all was silent for only a brief moment.

“Oi, guys! We forgot the snacks,” Korey piped up loudly, cresting the small hill they had perched themselves on. He seemed to only ever have one volume setting all the time; extra loud. Dropping down beside them, he ignored the clouds altogether. Instead he plucked a blade of grass from the ground and fiddled with it between his fingers before discarding it to the wind. Then he plucked another.

“Oh well,” Zaiden replied finally, shrugging casually without bothering to open his eyes. Kei trotted over, arms full of wildflowers and a grin plastered across her face. She dumped her haul onto the grass and settled in beside the brunette girl. Vibrating with energy, the crimson haired girl wiggled excitedly.

“Riley! Let’s make flower crowns!”

“Mmkay!” Riley chirped, her own grin growing as she sat up. Kei set to work on her own crown as the other picked out flowers from the pile. The boys drifted off into their own conversation that the girls tuned out, fully engrossed in their project. Time passed in the blink of an eye; two nearly finished crowns laid in place of the once large pile of wildflowers before their attention was pulled away.

“Oi, earth to Riley,” Korey shouted, finally capturing the girl’s attention. She snapped her head up, confusion crossing her features as she met his deep blue eyes.

“Huh?”

“I said do you want to go back to town with me and grab those snacks? I’m starving,” Korey whined dramatically, clutching his stomach for emphasis.

“Aren’t you always hungry?” Riley grinned playfully back at him, giggles escaping both of their lips.

“Mm… yeah.”

“Yeah sure, I’ll come.”

“We all might as well go,” Kei chimed in, putting the finishing touches on her crown before slipping it onto her head with a proud gleam in her eyes. The rest of the group rose from the ground, stretching and dusting themselves off when something caught their eye; a trio approaching from the direction of the village. They exchanged curious glances, waiting for the trio to get closer to see who it was.

“I thought I smelled a dirty foreigner,” a new voice snarled and the quartet tensed. The three older boys stomped their way across the field and the one who spoke held a sneer on his face. The other two followed his lead. They came to a halt in front of the younger group, arms crossed. “Go home already, nobody wants you here. You don’t belong.”

“Nobody asked you,” Riley growled back, her hands closed into fists by her side as she glared at the older boys. Being five years older, they towered over the gaggle of eight and nine-year-old’s easily. Try as she might, Riley didn’t look at that menacing.

“Get lost already,” Zaiden added in flatly, flanking Riley while Korey took up the other side of her.

“The hell you taking this shitty foreigner’s side for? You’re just sucking up because the Queen likes her.”

“Screw off dick face. Don’t you have a life,” Korey snarled loudly, taking a step forward. The leader of the older boys’ face darkened, his sneer turned to clenched teeth. Tufts of black hair obscured his green eyes for a moment as he seethed and then his head shot up; eyes narrowed.

“Little shits! Get ‘em!” The trio was quick, almost too quick for the younger group to react. Just as a rush of water barreled towards them the two younger boys dove to either side out of its path. Riley was yanked down by Kei. Her body hit the soft grass just as a thick cyclone of water shot by overhead drenching them regardless as it passed. Riley scrambled to her feet quickly, pulling the other girl up with her. It wasn’t good to be caught off your feet by an enemy. That was something Guren would say, she thought briefly to herself.

Kei’s eyes widened as she looked around; the bullies were already advancing slowly, eyeing them like they were prey. Zaiden and Korey were on their feet but now they were all spread out around the field with the lackey’s blocking their way back to each other. It wasn’t good. The bullies laughed; this was all just a game.

The leader seemed to zero in on Riley, his gaze completely ignoring the rest of them. He was yelling; snarling and spitting angrily as he stalked closer. Kei swallowed thickly and tried to will her hands to stop shaking. She whispered shakily, “Why are they doing this?”

Riley didn’t have a chance to answer, the dark haired boy threw a punch at her just as she lunged forward to tackle him. Narrowly missing the incoming fist, she wrapped her arms around his middle in an attempt to push him back. Kei bolted off across the meadow towards the village but the bully seemed not to notice. If he did, he didn’t care. Instead he threw Riley away from him; knocking her off balance and she tumbled backwards, momentarily dazed by the impact.

Across the field the boys had managed to get back near each other, now standing back to back as they avoided the lackey’s uncoordinated lunges. Unlike their leader, they hadn’t used their magic yet choosing instead to throw around punches. Zaiden and Korey had no aversion to using their magic and were much more skilled at fist fights than Riley was. She could only think once back to the time she punched a boy at school for throwing a rock at her but he hadn’t really tried to fight back and she didn’t do much damage anyway; he had merely laughed at her.

Stumbling back to her feet, Riley took her eyes back off of her friends as they both jumped in to tag team one of the bullies; their fists engulfed with magic. It was too late, she shouldn’t have let her eyes off the older boy. When she turned her head the dark haired boy was right there, grabbing her by the front of her T-shirt and yanking her off her feet.

“You think you’re better than me, huh” the boy screamed, spit flying from his mouth. Riley flinched, trying to pry his hands off of her shirt and yank herself away from him. He only pulled her closer, face red in anger.

“N-no. W-what’s your problem? I didn’t do anything to you!”

“Like fuck you don’t know, idiot. You think the world just revolves around you, don’t you? Stupid foreigner.”

“No! That’s not true! I don’t understand what you’re talking about!”

“Bet your Commander would love to see how weak you are now. He might even just call you a lost cause and boot you right back to where you belong. Maybe I should fry you? Water isn’t the only magic I can use, y’know. And water conducts electricity,” the boy’s piercing gaze narrowed and a twisted smile spread across his lips. Riley’s heart couldn’t beat any faster it was pounding so hard against her chest. Her breaths got shorter, more frantic and her mouth was agape as she tried to gulp down air. As she realized what he meant her eyes widened and she shivered in his grasp.

Flames manifested before her brain could even register them, engulfing her entirely and racing up the boy’s arm then across the left side of his torso. He screamed, raw and anguished as skin peeled and bubbled in the fire’s wake. Riley was frozen, the smell of charred flesh hit her nose. _W-was that me? Did I do that? _She gaped and gasped for air that didn’t smell burnt._ He was burning. He was burning. __**He was burning!**_ Her head felt fuzzy, vision blurry around the edges and it felt like she was suffocating.

Riley didn’t realize she was hyperventilating, or that Zaiden and Korey had screamed for her to run as they turned tail themselves; their own eyes wide with fear. The two lackeys had run off at the sound of the bone chilling scream and the wave of fire as it spread out, leaving the two younger boys behind. Blood pounded in her ears, muffling the world except for that scream. It hadn’t stopped. It bounced and echoed in her head like a ping-pong ball that had gotten stuck. Turning on it’s own, her body ran across the grassy meadow. She didn’t want to see it anymore, not realizing the flames had already dissipated. _Make it stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! _Her legs felt like jelly beneath her, threatening to give way under her weight. She stumbled, pushing off the ground to keep herself from going down. Zaiden and Korey were just ahead of her but they were faster, the distance between them was growing slowly as the trio ran without looking back. Her lungs felt like they were on fire too; since she was gasping for air but none seemed to enter her lungs. Everything in her body felt like fire.

The scream had stopped. Maybe it had a while ago; she wasn’t sure anymore. Echoes of it still rattled around in her head. She never heard a scream like that before. _ I killed him. I burned him and I killed him. _ She repeated in her head. Something collided with her back so suddenly she didn’t have time to be surprised. It knock ed what little wind she had manage d to gulp in right back out as she careened forward, smashing her face into the earth with a crack . Fireworks filled h er vision and her nose burned, blood pour ed from it and coat ed the blades of grass beneath her a rich red . Something heavy was atop her, preventing her from moving even to look. She thrashed just as the words reached her ears, “Little fuck. Now I’ll really fry you. _ I _ was supposed to join the knights. _ I’m _ stronger than you, faster than you, _ better _ than you. Why did he pick _ you? _ You don’t even belong here. Why couldn’t you just go back where you came from?”

The boy was alive. Riley was both relieved and terrified by that revelation when he rolled her onto her back, pinning her arms to her side with his knees as he hovered above her. His palm smashed itself against her face but she could still see him through his fingers. She hissed in pain from her bloodied nose. Half of his upper body was red and raw, the skin and tissue bubbled and was still bleeding. Bits of charred skin hung from his shoulder and his burned arm hung limply by his side. Steady beads of crimson liquid dropped down on her, earning a flinch each time one hit her face. Part of his shirt was just gone, the other side hanging on only by his arm in his sleeve. She thought she could hear Zaiden screaming her name but the blood in her ears was back, coupled by a ringing from smacking her head too hard.

The boy lifted his hand from her face, crackles of lightning danced between his fingers. His eyes were full of fury but she was too focused on the light in his hand. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. Still frozen in terror she gulped and squeaked out, “P-please.”

“Get off or you’ll lose your other arm too,” came a deep voice and a long sword blade hovered suddenly between her and the boy. His magic fizzled out, eyes snapping up at the newcomer until he realized who it was.

“C-C-Commander Guren...sir.”

“I won’t repeat myself,” Guren snarled down at him. The boy scurried backwards away from Riley as quickly as he could, leaving the young girl frozen on the ground. He managed to stagger to his feet, wide eyed as he locked eyes with Guren’s narrow gaze. The man glanced down at the girl, taking in the sight of her bloodied face and quickly assessing her injuries. He held up a hand and a bright green glow engulfed the boy who squeaked in fright before the burn wounds began to close in the warm glowing light. In its wake the boy’s arm and torso were a pinkish hue but no longer bleeding and bubbling. A permanent reminder of his battle. “Get out of here.”

The dark haired boy didn’t need to be told twice, with the pain of his injuries dulled to a throb he scrambled away towards the village. Korey and Zaiden had reached Riley’s side and Kei had returned, bending over to catch her breath.

“Riley are you alright,” she asked, voice wobbly as she took in the blood staining the grass beneath her friend. Zaiden reached to help the brunette girl up but she promptly collapsed back to the ground, her knees too weak to support her weight. Guren wasted no time scooping the girl up, ignoring the urine soaking the back of her pants and strode back towards the castle in silence. The remaining three followed behind, exchanging worried glances.

To Riley it felt like she had finally managed to get air, her desperate gasps eventually returning to normal breaths. She could hear Guren’s heartbeat as she laid her head against his shoulder, slow and steady, grounding her. Tears welled up in her eyes, the image of the boy’s burning body still playing over and over in her head.

“I-I-I didn’t mean to,” she whispered, tilting her head to look up at the stoic man. Her lip quivered and her voice shook. “I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.”

She sniffled, trying to will away the image in her mind of bubbled and charred flesh.

“Am I...a bad person?”

Guren met her gaze but didn’t answer, only walking onward. His expression gave no hints towards his thoughts. Riley laid her head back against his shoulder. _ Of course I am. I burned him. I hurt him so bad. He could have died. I’m awful. _She thought, her eyes half lidded as exhaustion set in. She felt the warm rush of magic across her face, the pain from her nose and lip going away as if it had never been there in the first place. The only evidence left behind was the smear of blood coating her face and chin and the metallic taste in her mouth. Before she knew it, they had reached the castle and she was dumped unceremoniously into Queen Reina’s arms.

“Riley sweetheart, are you alright? What happened to you? Korey bring me a wet cloth please,” Reina crooned, setting the girl on a nearby chair and cupping the girl’s face with both her hands. Korey scampered away with Kei right on his heels. Zaiden lingered in the background, far enough to be out of the way but close enough to keep an eye on Riley. “Guren healed you?”

Riley nodded dumbly, unable to formulate any words. Her tongue felt like lead in her mouth, weighed down by a ton of cotton stuffed in her throat. She sniffled, wiping away tears and snot with her sleeve. Reina batted her hand away gently, setting to work on cleaning the child’s face with the cloth as soon as the blond boy reemerged from the hallway.

“Does it still hurt Riley? What happened,” Kei butted in, hovering around the chair worriedly.

“I-I…I don’t know,” Riley whispered, her voice hoarse. “He didn’t make any sense. I...I don’t know what I did. But I...I burned him. I didn’t mean to! I swear I didn’t mean to. It was an accident. I just...he was gonna… and then he was on fire. I tried to make it stop but he was burning. It smelled so awful and he was screaming and… and-”

Reina pulled her close, burying the child’s face in her bosom while she smoothed the hiccuping girl’s hair. She locked eyes with Guren who returned to stand in the doorway, searching his emotionless gaze for answers. She cooed softly, “It’s alright Riley. You’re okay now.”

Riley continued to bawl, leaving Reina and the others to wait patiently until she calmed herself down.


End file.
